2018 Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings

I know no one cares about anyone's fantasy leagues except their own, but I'm going to do a quick recap of my Week 14 league results anyway...

I went 1-1. 

OK. Recap over.  See, I told you it would be quick.  If you're still in your fantasy playoffs, great!  But don't pat yourself on the back just yet.  You still need to win a couple more to bring home a championship.

Let's get right into the Week 15 rankings, shall we?

2018 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ - Expert Consensus Rankings

QUARTERBACKS
Last week, I had both Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott in my top-12 (+4 on Dak and +5 on Russell).  Wilson has been one of the hottest fantasy QBs in the second half of the season, and I wasn't betting against him on Monday Night Football.  He didn't do much of anything against the Vikings though, and his rushing yards are the only thing that kept him from being one of the worst options in Week 14.  This was a bad call on my part.  As for Dak, he faced that terrible Eagle secondary and I said he and Amari Cooper would connect a lot in this game.  That turned out to be an understatement because Dak found Amari for three touchdowns and finished as a top-5 fantasy QB.  I was down on Matt Ryan (-5), Mitch Trubisky (-7), and Marcus Mariota (-6).  I was wrong about Ryan, who needed garbage time but still somehow ended up as a top-10 fantasy QB.  As for Mariota and the Trubiscuit, both were outside of the top-25 and were two of the worst fantasy options at the QB position last week.

This week, I'm highest on Derek Carr (+10) who has actually been a TOP-10 fantasy QB over the last month.  He has multiple TD passes in 3 of those 4 games, and he hasn't thrown an interception since October 7th!  This week he faces a Cincinnati defense that gives up the second-most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season.  Sure.  I'd definitely be a little nervous to start him this week.  You know, because it's Derek Freakin' Carr!  But I'm still ranking him inside my top-10.  You can't stop me.

I'm way down on Lamar Jackson this week (-8) because I'm a little nervous about Flacco likely being active this week.  I could see Joe getting plugged into the game to run a 2-minute drill and maybe more if he's successful.  If Lamar even struggles a little bit, I could see them pull the plug on him at halftime.  This scenario makes me nervous.  I'm also down on Philip Rivers (-6) because he hasn't been great at Arrowhead in recent memory.  Melvin Gordon is likely back this week, which could mean less passing for Rivers.  I just don't see him as a top-5 play this week, though you're likely starting him unless you somehow have a better option in the top-10.

RUNNING BACKS

I had LeGarrette Blount just inside my top-25 last week (+9 vs ECR), and I was also really high on Adrian Peterson (+8).  While both had double digit carries, neither did much with them and both RBs finished outside of the top-50.  I was highest on Stevan Ridley though (+11), and he found the endzone and was a serviceable FLEX play in Week 14. For the second week in a row, I was way down on James White (-9) and Dion Lewis (-8).  Those guys are FLEX plays at best and not RB2s for anymore.  Lewis had a handful of points but was still outside of the top-40, and James White wasn't even in the top-50 against Miami.  If you looked inside my top-25, I was low on Gus Edwards (-8).  He still had a decent game, but Kenneth Dixon is getting more and more involved in this offense.  I ranked Gus the Bus outside of my top-20, and he actually finished outside the top-30. I'm still high on Ridley this week (+10), but right now I'm highest on Chris Ivory (+15).  I fully expect LeSean McCoy to sit this week, and I think that means Ivory will get 15-20 touches against a leaky Lions defense.  I have him as a decent FLEX play this week (if McCoy sits), and I think he could have double digit fantasy points in that scenario.  OK, so I'm also super high on Melvin Gordon (+66) because I have him back to his usual top-5 play tomorrow night.  The ECR will catch up to my ranking if he's active like I expect.  I saw video of him warming up before the game LAST week before he was declared inactive, so I fully expect him back this week.  If he's not, obviously I'll remove him from my rankings.  But if he's playing, you're playing him.  And of course I'm playing against him in my money league this week (great timing!).  So yeah, I think he'll be a top-5 play. I'm down on Adrian Peterson (-5), and I don't see how you could feel good about starting anyone on the Redskins offense this week in Jacksonville.   I'm also not crazy about Peyton Barber (-7).  I realize he's the "bellcow" RB for the Bucs, but if he doesn't find the endzone, you're likely looking at a stat line of around 15 carries for 50 yards.  That's what I'm predicting for this week against a tough Baltimore run defense.

WIDE RECEIVERS
Looking at the top of my rankings last week, I was highest on Amari Cooper (+6) and lowest on Tyreek Hill (-7).  Cooper easily finished as the #1 WR in Week 14, so that was a nice pick.  But Tyreek had a good game against the Ravens and finished in the top-10 against a good defense.  If you looked a little lower in my rankings, I was high on Curtis Samuel (+7), Dante Pettis (+8), Anthony Miller (+11), and Dede Westbrook (+13).  Pettis and Westbrook finished in the top-20, but Samuel finished outside of the top-30 even though he had 80 receiving yards.  As for Miller, he was barely involved in the offense against the Rams, so that was just a bad call there.  I was lowest on Allen Robinson (-9) and Corey Davis (-8), as both had tough matchups.  Neither finished as a top-50 WR, so I was right on both guys. I have tons of large discrepancies with the ECR near the bottom of my WR rankings.  But if I stick near the top, I still like Dante Pettis as a top-25 WR this week (+8).  He smoked this same Seattle secondary just a couple of weeks ago, so I think he makes for a decent FLEX play again.  Once you get outside of my top-25 or so, I don't feel super confident in any of these guys.  I guess I'm most down on Alshon Jeffery and Kenny Golladay (-8 on each) who I don't see as top-25 WRs this week.  Alshon will be without Carson Wentz and is facing a tough Rams secondary.  Golladay hasn't looked great as the #1 WR, especially without guys like Golden Tate and Marvin Jones drawing attention away from him.  I think the Bills could shut him down. TIGHT ENDS If you looked at my top-15 TEs last week, I was high on Trey Burton (+5) and low on Jordan Reed (-5).  Neither finished as a top-25 TE though, but at least Reed had an excuse since he left in the first quarter with a foot injury.  If you looked further down my rankings, I was highest on Blake Jarwin (+17).  I had him as a top-30 play, and he actually finished in the top-15! This week, I have Chris Herndon in my top-12 (+6 vs ECR).  He's actually been pretty solid this season, and he's averaging 4 targets per game in his last 5 contests.  That doesn't seem like a lot, but for the tight end position, beggars can't be choosers.  He's an athletic guy who is facing a defense that gives up top-10 numbers to the tight end position this year.  Why not, right?  I'm down on Kyle Rudolph (-8) who hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 3.  That was also the last time he had more than 6.3 fantasy points.  Yikes.  I know the tight end position is rough this year, but I'm not ranking Rudolph in my top-12. DEFENSES

I've been high on the Saints defense nearly every week this season, and Week 14 was no different (+3).  They just feel like a top-12 fantasy defense every week to me, and they ended up in the top-12 against the Bucs.  I was highest on the Giants (+8) because they were facing Mark Sanchez and a bunch of backups on Washington's O-line.  New York had a defensive touchdown in a game they dominated.  If not for some garbage time points from Josh Johnson and company, the Giants likely would have been the #1 fantasy defense last week.  The #1 defense was the Bears though, and I was high on them too (+7).  Most experts were worried about them against the Rams, but I still had them as a top-12 play.  I hope they can keep it rolling this week against the Packers because I'm getting them back in my fantasy lineup.

I ended up lowest on the Seahawks (-5) who I thought might struggle to keep the Viking offense in check.  That couldn't have been further from the truth, and the Seattle D showed up in a big way on Monday night.  I was just all kinds of wrong about this game.

This week, I'm highest on the Browns (+6) and lowest on the Titans (-6).  Cleveland is still fighting for a playoff spot, and they've actually been playing fairly well the last month or so.  They haven't given up more than 23 points to an offense since Week 9, and that was against the Chiefs anyway.  Meanwhile, the Broncos haven't scored more than 24 points since Week 7, and they've only scored more than 24 twice all year.  This game feels like it'll be low scoring, maybe 17-13.  I think the Browns will put up some decent numbers on defense.  As for the Titans, I just don't think they'll be able to slow down the Giants the way they did the Jags and Jets the last couple of weeks.  The Giants have been scoring a ton of points lately and playing way better in the second half of the season.  I don't see Tennessee as a great option this week.

Good luck to everyone in Week 15!  

(Except you, Mike...)

Cheers,

Bart